Estimated reading time: 17 minutes

CONTENTS

1.    Introduction
2.    Why is onboarding so important?
3.    How does being a remote worker affect onboarding?
4.    Preboarding: start as you mean to go on
5.    Get the basics right
6.    Culture and values
7.    Training without overwhelming
8.    Building relationships
9.    Keeping the momentum going
10.  Evaluation, reflection and refinement
11.  Using data effectively
12.  Summary
13.  About the author

As increasing numbers of us join the ranks of remote working employees, new challenges have arisen: how can we communicate effectively? What strategies should we use to manage remote workers? How can organisations support staff wellbeing in a home work setting?

Among the most pressing of these issues is how we should welcome new employees when visiting the office is not an option. For some organisations, this has been an opportunity to examine induction programmes that are perhaps no longer fit for purpose. So, how can we improve our onboarding processes to best suit the needs of staff joining as remote workers (and rejuvenate our approach to welcoming new starters altogether)?

We’ll take a practical look at steps you can take to improve remote onboarding at your organisation, backed up by industry research and insights from our own experiences at Nimble.

How does being a remote worker affect onboarding?

Starting a new job is stressful under any circumstances. We all want to feel supported in our new role, and the induction process is a key way to get up to speed with expectations and processes. Without the human interaction element, it could be easy to leave new employees feeling isolated, unsupported, and unsure of their role. Even with the basics covered, there may be differences that are difficult to spot, but could cause problems further down the line.

Research undertaken by TINYPulse comparing new hires in April-September 2019 (who experienced face-to-face onboarding) and those who joined in the same period during 2020 (onboarded remotely, due to the COVID-19 pandemic) has some fascinating insights into the differences. Although both groups report similar levels of satisfaction with the onboarding process, their actual behaviour paints a different picture.

This data suggests that new hires who started at the organisation virtually were less in-tune with the overall aims and culture of the business – and were also less personally connected to one another. We’ll discuss how to keep relationships and values at the forefront of your remote onboarding plans, creating opportunities for meaningful interactions between employees.

Despite the challenges, you can choose to refocus: take advantage of the opportunities that remote onboarding has to offer. Virtual induction of new employees has its plus points and can allow for creative, inspiring approaches that set your new hires off on the right foot. Joining a company remotely can have its advantages; notably, a remote onboarding process forces organisations to collate key information and documents digitally that might otherwise be difficult to locate later. This makes it easy for a new starter to refer back to policies, procedures, training documentation and guidelines as they settle into their role.

Of course, there are challenges unique to virtual onboarding: technical support, reduced concentration spans, and difficulty connecting on a human level might all be issues you face. However, with careful consideration and planning, these can be mitigated.

At Nimble, we’ve recently hired a number of new employees – and completed the whole induction process while all staff have been working remotely. Fundamentally, the purpose of onboarding is to ensure a smooth start for every new employee; by keeping the needs of that employee at the heart of your plans, the process will be a success (whether in-person or virtually).

Getting it done

Encourage existing staff to welcome their new team member ahead of their start date. These messages could be collated by HR and sent on to the new hire, accessed ahead of time via limited access to company systems, or even sent to their personal email address (if they are comfortable with it being shared, of course). You may also want to offer new employees the opportunity to speak directly with key team members before they start, to connect on a personal level.

There’s obviously a balance to be struck here between providing employees with enough key information before they start their role, and overwhelming them with tasks (being mindful of the fact they’re not yet on your payroll and are likely to be busy wrapping up loose ends at their current job).

Finally, make sure you lay the onboarding process out clearly for each new employee. Pavlina (2020) recommends creating a centralised file or folder for every new starter, containing all the information they need. It may sound basic, but simply providing a personalised onboarding checklist, broken down by time period, gives new staff a clear picture of where they’re heading and reinforces a feeling of being valued and supported. It also helps all those involved with the process (whether HR, line managers, product specialists or trainers) a handy reminder of expectations. When you’re completing induction and onboarding remotely, ‘winging it’ isn’t really an option!

Welcoming a new employee into your organisation’s culture is one of the most challenging aspects of remote onboarding. Research shows that developing social understanding is more difficult in a remote work environment; without the chance to observe existing employees interact with one another, new starters lose many informal opportunities to learn about cultural norms (Korte, 2007). Company values won’t simply be absorbed by new employees; make them explicit from the start, demonstrate them in action, and set expectations clearly – or your new remote staff are likely to struggle (Ellis et al, 2015).

Fundamentally, culture is built through interactions with one another. What are the expectations for communication and behaviour? There are so many intangibles that come into play when joining a new organisation. If you can recognise these and make them as concrete as possible, your new starter will feel more comfortable from day one. Think carefully about those small choices you take for granted as a seasoned employee: is it acceptable to schedule a meeting in a senior manager’s calendar? When should email be used to communicate internally, and when is a call or chat message preferred? How do you mark birthdays or special events? Is it OK to block out time in your own calendar to get things done, or set your status to ‘do not disturb’?

It’s also critical to ensure that team members aren’t left feeling like they’ve been indoctrinated. Bombarding them with cultural norms without valuing their own experiences and skills can make staff feel as though they need to hide their identity in order to fit in (Cable et al, 2013). People want to be authentic at work. Give them opportunities to reflect on their own strengths and how these can be applied in their new role. In this way, individuals can come together around shared values without compromising their authenticity.

Begin by defining the purpose of any training you offer as part of an induction programme. What would you expect your new employee to know (or better yet, be able to do) at the end of their first week? How about by the time their first month of employment is complete, or six months down the line? These expectations should be clear to everyone involved, and the path to achieving them should be laid out from the start.

Compliance training is of course at the forefront of any induction plan, and elearning offers a cost-effective way to deliver this in a way that allows learners to access it as and when they have time in their schedule. It’s likely that a remote new starter will be spending a lot of time in video meetings during the early days and weeks of their role; self-guided elearning can provide a welcome change of pace. Finding well-written compliance courses that are always up-to-date with the latest legislation (and that present the necessary information in a digestible, engaging format) is easier said than done, however.

Formal training – whether in the form of elearning courses or online webinars – should be balanced with informal learning methods (the now-famous 70:20:10 model may have received its share of criticism, but the value of learning ‘in the flow of work’ is undisputed). These might take the form of one-to-one chats with colleagues, ‘listening in’ on meetings or other methods of communication between experienced staff, exploring key tools or products independently, completing simple tasks and receiving feedback, or simply reading around the subject. Of course, which methods work best will depend on the type of role and organisation. Regardless, they should be spelled out as options in the new starter’s onboarding plan.

This ties into what can be a fundamental tension when onboarding new staff, particularly in larger organisations: how centralised services (HR and L&D departments) can work in tandem with decentralised management. Line managers are absolutely critical to the success of any onboarding programme, and giving them the time to support new employees effectively will have a big impact. All too often, an induction plan is handed down from above without proper consultation, and managers on the ground are left to fill in the gaps. A coordinated effort is a challenge to implement, but will have enormous benefits – not just for the new starter, but for the development of all employees going forward.

Just like communicating organisational values, forming connections with others is one of the most challenging aspects of beginning a new role remotely. Human connection and a sense of belonging are absolutely key to employee engagement and satisfaction; so what practical steps can you take to ensure that new starters have the chance to flourish?

Begin by personalising the induction to meet the needs and skills of your new employee. Something as simple as ensuring their name is pre-filled on documentation, or directing them to specific information that they may find personally interesting based on their past experience, can go a long way to building a solid relationship from the start.

Socialising is more difficult to achieve when team members aren’t present together in the same space. With a little planning, you can create a range of opportunities for new starters to connect with their colleagues. Virtual team lunches and coffee breaks, where personal conversations are encouraged, are a great place to start. Many organisations are also exploring creative virtual icebreakers: from karaoke and escape rooms to cookery kits and scavenger hunts. Take care to involve staff in your choice of activity, however. Some teams might relish the thought of a dance-off; others might consider it their worst nightmare. You could also consider creating a space for interest groups to meet virtually (workplace chat channels in Slack or Teams are perfect for this) – and these needn’t be work-related!

Relationship-building with close colleagues or a core team is likely to happen whether you plan for it or not. What takes a more intentional approach is the development of connections between employees across departments. In a traditional office environment, chats in the hallway or kitchen (or even simply overhearing conversations) might have ensured this happened organically. If your teams are working remotely, this needs to be cultivated.

Driving improvement

You might also want to speak to employees who’ve been with you for a while about their experience of starting. Even if your induction process wasn’t fully formed (or virtual!) at the time, they could provide useful information about what they found most and least helpful. Plans for onboarding shouldn’t be set in stone. Your approach will change as the needs of the organisation (and employees) change, and as you learn how to better support new staff.

Start with the questions you want to answer, rather than the data you have (Towards Maturity, 2018). If the prospect of collecting and analysing data seems intimidating and time-consuming, begin by choosing a single area of focus, starting with a simple question. For example: how many new remote employees leave within the first year, and has this changed upon introducing a structured onboarding process? What proportion of new staff meet or exceed expectations during their first six months, and how has this changed? In examining a small dataset with a narrow focus initially, you may well find a compelling argument to present to senior leaders about the value of a carefully considered onboarding programme.

In summary, remote and hybrid working practices are here to stay. In building a reflective, organised approach to virtual onboarding, you can improve outcomes for new staff and meet broad organisational objectives.

Adapting to new ways of welcoming employees needn’t be intimidating; as we’ve seen from research, making simple changes can have a lasting impact.

First impressions count. By providing a clearly structured induction programme in the first weeks and months, new starters will feel supported, understand your organisation’s culture, and begin to thrive – whether in the office or at home.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Hannah is Nimble’s Learning Adviser, providing L&D insights that our current and prospective customers value. Writing thought provoking articles that are delivered across multiple formats as well as a range of initiatives including training, white papers, videos, elearning courses, blogs, seminars, webinars, monthly emails, knowledge bases, case studies, podcasts and one-to-one meetings.